In Perfect Sync
by nummy12345
Summary: Captain Swan Pitch Perfect AU multi chapter fic. Emma is an orphan, but a super genius who rocked in high school and got good enough grades to get a full ride scholarship to Storybrooke University. She's introduced to the college through her old physics teacher Mr. Gold. He now works at Storybrooke University because of reasons. Emma aspires to have a career in music.
1. Chapter 1

_ANONYMOUS WONDERED:_

_If you're taking prompts, how about a Captain Swan AU, Pitch Perfect style? Regina as Aubrey, Snow as Chloe. Emma as Beca who gets coerced into joining the group by Professor Gold, Neal as the station manager who can't take no for an answer._

Thanks for the prompt anon. I've only seen this movie two times, so if it steers from the story a bit that's why. I decided to make this into a multi chapter fic, and I changed the characters around a bit from what you asked. In this story Emma is an orphan, but a super genius who rocked in high school and got good enough grades to get a full ride scholarship to Storybrooke University. She's introduced to the college through her old physics teacher Mr. Gold. He now works at Storybrooke University because of reason ^_^ Emma aspires to have a career in music. Enjoy part one. Oh and the reason I didn't start out with the singing competition is because it will be retold by Snow in gruesome details in another chapter. I hope you like it. 

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**Part One | _First Roommate_**

To say that she was excited to be at college would be a damn lie. College was never her first choice, but unfortunately for Emma Swan it was the only choice at the moment. Turning 18 meant she was out of the system, and being out of the system meant that she was homeless. Being homeless wasn't exactly what she strived to be once coming of age, so she took the advice from her old physics teacher Mr. Gold.

"You have a full scholarship Ms. Swan to Storybrooke University."

She scoffed at him. "Storybrooke? Seriously?"

"I suggest you invest in your future."

He was right. She wanted to make music. A college degree wouldn't hurt that dream of hers.

When the yellow cab pulled up to the campus, the first thing she noticed were the people. Hundreds and hundreds of people in every size shape and color surrounding and weaving through the campus in every direction.

"She's hot." Someone whispered as Emma grabbed her box out the trunk of the cab. She rolled her eyes at the comment. Yeah, college would be-

Loud music disrupted her thoughts. Stopped in the lane next to her was a black Jetta. In the backseat with the windows rolled down was a guy who looked around her age strumming air guitar to Kansas. He was belting out lyrics and wiggling his eyebrows at her.

_On a stormy sea of moving emotion_

_Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean_

_I set a course for winds of fortune_

_But I hear the voices say_

Emma couldn't help but smile at his ridiculous expression. He was staring right at her, blue eyes wide and dancing with mischief.

She loses it when he begins sing the guitar riffs.

_Air guitar, really?_

He winked once he caught wind of her laughter, but the moment was lost when the Jetta took off down the road.

Somehow Emma managed to sail her way through the boisterous crowd. It's was a sea of clicks and clubs, and Emma'd never felt more uncomfortable in her life as she did right now being around so many strangers at one time.

_Like high school my ass,_ she murmured as a topless guy bumped into her shoulder with not so much as a glance back to apologize.

The dorm, thankfully, was slightly better than the bustling sea of strangers in the quad. Her dorm was smaller because it was older and she was happy to have been placed there because the smaller the dorm the easier it would be to recognize faces. The more faces she recognized the easier it would be to feel safe. Luckily she had been placed on the first floor. It was closest to the emergency exit, and she liked that. Emma clutched the paper given to her by admissions in her hand as she juggled holding her box with her knee and other hand. Her laptop was tightly clamped under her armpit. She took a long breath.

_Here you are Emma. Dorm 123. Your dorm. Your new home._

It was kind of funny; Emma had never been in a home longer than a few months, and now she had a permanent home for at least a year in Storybrooke. Four years if she didn't screw up. She'd even have a roommate. Maybe they'd become friends.

_You can do this Emma_, she convinced herself as her fingers gripped the knob. The paper crinkled._ Just smile Emma and be yourself._

The door creaked open into an uncomfortably silent room. Standing by the bed on the left side of the window was her new roommate. No, not new, she corrected. First. Her first roommate. Emma's eyes darted to the paper in her hand to make sure the name was Regina. She had practiced the greeting countless times in the cab, and here she was trying to reassure herself that she had at least got the name right.

"You must be Regina Mills. I'm Emma." She was met with awkward silence. "Emma Swan." She cleared her throat.

The back of Regina's head bobbed around as she flattened the sheets to her bed.

"Oh you pick that one? Oh okay, yeah cool. I'll take this one I guess-" Emma's voice trailed off. _Well, she's friendly_, she thought putting her box on the mattress and pulling her red jacket off her shoulders and tossing it on the floor.

The first thing she noticed about the room was Regina's photos. There were several photos of an older man and her that had been secured on twine over her bed with clothespins.

_Probably her dad_, she guessed rubbing her forearm.

Regina's sheets were purple. She had a white clock radio and a white table lamp. Even the chair to her desk was white, and although it was such a small amount of things, Emma couldn't help but envy how much she had when compared to her. She let her eyes travel down to the only items she owned: a scratched up laptop and one large box that she had set on her bed. She didn't have sheets, or any pictures. She wondered if hanging up a picture of herself would be weird. What was more awkward, mused: having no pictures on the wall, or having a picture of yourself? Regina's stunning sheets made her eyes fall on the shabby mattress before her.

_I'll have to figure out sheets and stuff later._

Regina growled when a rapping noise came from the door.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Emma turned to ask her, but she was once again met with the back of her raven-haired head. "Yeah. Okay. Come on in!" She called out.

The door creaked open. It was him. Of course, it was.

"Mr. Gold." Emma greeted in a tone that was half-aggravated and half-disappointed. Whom was she expecting? It was a new place to her, and besides the back of her roommates Regina Mill's head, everyone in Storybrooke was a stranger besides Mr. Gold.

"Professor." He corrected straightening his crimson tie. His eyes slinked between each corner of the room before landing on Regina who sat at her desk drumming her fingers against her table lamp. "You must be Ms. Swan's roommate. I'm Professor Gold." Emma groaned as he extended his hand toward Regina. He was met with the same cheery disposition Regina had extended to her. "Charming." He dryly said before nodding. He brought his hand back to his cane, and focused completely on Emma. "How are you enjoying the campus?"

She sighed. "I have really only been here. Haven't gotten a chance to look around really."

"I see. There's an activities fare in the quad." His head titled forward. "If you're interested."

"I know. I got all your emails." Emma chewed on her lip and fixed her attention to her laptop's screen.

"Will you be attending? I think it would be an excellent opportunity for you to get better acquainted with your peers."

She shook her head. "Not really interested in getting acquainted with anyone Mr. Gold."

"Professor." His tone fizzled from hopeful to disappointed. "Then why are you here, Ms. Swan?"

"Because it was free." She answered closing her laptop and tending to her one box of belongings. Her fingers fumbled with the packing tape. "It was either here, or nowhere. Girls like me don't really have a lot of options."

"Girls like you?" He asked, tapping his cane on the hardwood floors. "Bright? Talented?"

"Orphans." She responded.

Emma eventually managed to split open her box. There wasn't much to see inside. A pair of worn boots and a small pillow were hastily tossed on top before the box had been sealed shut. Underneath them were a few toiletries. Emma could sense Mr. Gold's eyes boring into the back of her skull. He wouldn't let her off easily. No matter how much she tried to deflect his concern, Mr. Gold would barrel through it.

_He's a teacher, Emma. He's the reason you're here in the first place. You should at least pretend to care. Right?_ Her eyes hovered over a plastic baggy of hair ties. _Right?_

"Ms. Swan, you may be an orphan, but you are so much mo-"

"I'm going to the activities fare." Regina interrupted.

Emma's eyes followed her glowering roommate as she pushed in the chair to her desk. _Thank god for Regina_, she thought jostling her box back and tugging her jacket over her shoulders. This was an out to a conversation she seriously wanted to avoid. As much as she was sure people appreciated compliments, Emma didn't.

"Yeah me too," Emma blinked at Mr. Gold. His eyebrow quirked at her eagerness. Sell it Emma, she thought. "With my uh, really good friend Regina Mills." She feigned a smile.

Regina rolled her eyes as Emma trailed behind her.

"Goodbye Mr. Gold. See ya' round." She drove a hand up before shoving in into her jean pocket.

"Oh, count on it." He replied as the door closed behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys. Here's part two. After I started to map this entire fic out I realized it's going to be at least 10-15 chapters long. I will update at least once a week. Also if anyone is interested in doing beta please let me know.

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**Part Two | The Activities Fair**

"This is-" Emma's eyes scanned the bustling crowd and various booths. "Wow. Did you want to-"

The second the bottom of her shoe hit the pavement in the quad, Regina abandoned Emma.

_We sure got off to a great start_, Emma groaned. She followed the back of her roommate's head until it became lost in the masses. She pushed both her hands into her jacket pocket. The key inside felt foreign, and she spun it along her fingers as she apprehensively approached the first booth. As much as everyone says college is like moving to a bigger high school it absolutely wasn't. There were so many things happening around her that she couldn't fix on one, and that made Emma nervous. With all her years in the system, it was habitual to always know her surroundings. The first thing she did when entering someplace new was locate the exit. With so many people gathering around in such a small space, she couldn't find a distinct exit and that made her worry.

"Right. You can do this, Emma. Activities Fair." She prolonged deep breath allowing her eyes flutter shut a moment to catch her nerves. "Let's see what activities are in Storybrooke."

When reopening her eyes, she caught a girl with long red hair side-eye her as she passed by with her friend. Emma heard them whisper the word weirdo.

"What?" She practically screeched as she turned her full attention at the duo. No response; they went ahead without acknowledging the exasperated blonde fuming behind them. "Is talking to yourself so weird that it deserves the stink eye?"

"S'cuse me. Are you interested in pledging?"

Standing in front of her with a scrunched up nose and unimpressed glower was a short girl with auburn hair. Her eyes started to drift down from her face. Was she sizing her up? Emma winced when she saw the girl's face squint once she found her boots.

_Fabulous. Another stink eye._

"Nope. Not interested." She admitted, rolling her tongue against the inside of her cheek. Truthfully she wouldn't have stopped at the booth in the first place if it weren't for the un-called "weirdo" remark.

"Thank God." Emma folded her arms and cocked her head. Was this girl serious? "Can you move." The snark in her voice caught Emma off-guard. She removed a flyer from the clipboard clutched in her left hand and gave it to a girl who seemingly materialized from thin air beside her. "There are people behind you who actually belong here."

_What the hell?_ Emma could sense the heat rising to her face. She had the urge to punch the girl square in the jaw for being so rude.

Sorority girl snickered at Emma's hesitation to move. "There are people behind you. Are you deaf?"

_Not worth it. Not worth it. Not worth it. Right?_ Emma deliberated as she stomped away from Alpha Bitchy Whatever.

So far the people in Storybrooke were real gems. This is exactly how she imagined college to be. It sure was a fairytale; precisely how Mr. Gold testified it would be a year ago when he was attempting to convince her to choose the university.

"NOT!" Emma blurted out rolling her eyes. Several other people glanced her way, but they quickly returned to whatever they were doing. "What are you doing here? Is there ever going to be anywhere I belong?" Emma lamented.

"Mary Margaret what are you doing?" Ruby disapproved as her friend snubbed her nose at yet another girl. Ruby swore she could see steam spouting out the ears of the poor girl as she marched away from their booth in the direction of the High Tones.

Ugh, the High Tones.

Even they were doing better at the moment. Far better than Ruby imagined. Nobody was interested in the Bellas, not after they publicly-

"That girl-" Ruby snapped out of her daze and shook her head at her friend. "You can't be serious, Red!"

"What?" She interrupted placing both her hands on her hips. Ruby leaned in and gave her the same look she had received from Granny the night she caught her and Graham in the dinner's freezer. That look made Mary Margaret tense, and God dammit she was lucky that she was only getting a look right now for how she was behaving. "Mary Margaret what the heck happened to you over the summer? You've never been this mean! Never! Not even to a cockroach!"

"New York happened to me!" She spit back. "I feel like I'm cursed! Ever since Lincoln Center I can't focus. Things have not been going well for me at all. Regina-"

"Regina?" There you go, that was her answer. No more needed to be said. Lincoln Center was a big deal, but it was NOTHING compared to Mary Margaret's baggage with her step-sister Regina. Ruby sighed. "Why do you even bother with Regina?"

"I don't know!" Mary Margaret ran a hand through her hair. "Would it help if I said I'm sorry?"

"No."

Sorry wouldn't cut it. They needed 12 members to even think about competitions this season, and right now it was just the two of them. Nobody wanted to be a Bella after the incident.

"Just let me handle getting people to come and audition. If you wanna move past what happened in New York, you gotta realize we don't have the luxury of being snobs."

Mary Margaret agreed. Snob was never a word anyone would of associated with her before.

"Woah! Three o'clock!"

Mary Margaret's eyes followed her eager friend's fingers. Standing in the distance staring at their booth was a blonde. Torn jeans. A Red jacket. Interesting boots. Alone.

"Hey you!" Ruby called out waving her arms.

"Ruby!" Mary Margaret seethed, but a quick jab in her ribs quieted her. Actually, it made her gasp for air.

"Hey you!"Emma spotted the two girls under the banner of the booth she had been assessing. It was the word music that had caught her eye, but the next word Acappella completely turned her off. Emma looked behind her but saw nobody looking in their general direction.

Me? She thought pointing to herself and lifting her eyebrows. The girl with the long brown hair nodded and mouthed YES YOU. Emma cocked her head to the right again.

Are you sure? She mouthed.

"YES!" The girl squealed. She was smiling from ear to ear, but the shorter girl with the dark bobbed hair -

"Come here!" She was beckoning her over practically jumping as her friend stood with her hands at her side.

_What the hell. May as well,_ Emma reasoned walking forward.

"I love your jacket." Ruby said reaching for her sleeve. "Red is kind of my thing." Emma yanked her arm back; another one of her instincts courtesy of the system. She rarely let people touch her, and at this moment she wished she did because the look on their faces made her feel awkward. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"No." Emma waved her hand. She blew a short breath when the girls shoulders relaxed. "It's okay. Just caught me a little off-guard."

"Okay." Ruby smiled. "I saw you checking out our booth. Do you like music?"

"Yeah, I actually-"

"That's great!" She interrupted clapping her hands together. "My name is Ruby. You can call me Red if you like. The grumpy girl to my left is Mary Margaret, and we represent the Storybrooke Bellas. We're Storybrooke's all girl Acappella group."

Emma didn't know what to say, so she just nodded figuring it was better to let them finish their pitch before declining.

"We make music with our mouths." Mary Margaret chimed in.

"Yeah, I got that from the sign." Emma jostled her hands back into her pocket to find her key once more. The cool metal gripped between her fingers made her feel secure in this sea of strangers. "I don't really sing."

"But you can, right?"

Why were her eyes so big? Emma wanted to look away, but she couldn't. Ruby's face was so full of hope. Because of the way she was staring at her, Emma was going to feel awful turning her down. There was also the fact that this was the first girl who was nice to her since arriving.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered. "But I-"

"Look I get it. No pressure okay?" She pulled out a pink flier from her clipboard and handed it to Emma with a smile. "Just think about it."

She saw the easy out given to her and relaxed a little. "Sure."

"Cool." Ruby turned to her friend and gave her a look.

Mary Margaret sighed. "Yeah, just think about it. We get to travel and do competitions." The look from Ruby intensified before Mary Margaret practically spit out, "it's really fun."

Emma pretended to read the flier to humor them. "I'll check it out. Thanks guys."

She pivoted to the right before hearing Ruby calling out for her.

"HEY! HEY WAIT!"

"Yeah?" Emma asked shifting once more to face them.

"What's your name?" She shouted.

"Emma!"

Her grin was enough to make Emma scamper elsewhere. Anymore guilty looks from that girl's doe eyes and she might actually go audition.


End file.
